冯延巳（903年—960年），字正中，一字仲杰，五代十国时期著名词人、宰相。仕于南唐烈祖、中主二朝，三度拜相，官终太子太傅，卒谥忠肃。他的词多写闲情逸致，文人的气息很浓，对北宋初期的词人有比较大的影响。宋初《钓矶立谈》评其“学问渊博，文章颖发，辩说纵横”，有词集《阳春集》传世。
Feng Yansi (903-960 AD), also known as Zhongzheng and Zhongjie, was a famous poet and prime minister during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. He served in the Southern Tang Dynasty’s Liezu and Zhongzhu reigns, and was appointed as a prime minister three times. He was eventually promoted to the position of Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince and posthumously honored with the title of Zhongsu. His poems often depict leisurely emotions and a strong literary atmosphere, which had a significant influence on the poets of the early Northern Song Dynasty. In the early Song Dynasty, the book “Diaoji Litan” praised him for his “profound knowledge, outstanding writing, and excellent argumentation”. There is a collection of poems called “Yangchun Collection” that has been passed down.
Feng Yansi’s “Picking Mulberry Seeds, Part One” (Lost in front of the flowers, Spring Lovers) is a masterpiece that blends emotions and expresses feelings of loneliness.
冯延巳·《采桑子·其一》
小庭雨过春将尽，
片片花飞，
独折残枝，
无语凭阑只自知。
玉堂香暖珠帘卷，
双燕来归。
君约佳期，
肯信韶华得几时。
To “Ts’ai Sang-tzu” (I)
Feng Yen-ssu
In a tiny garden the rain is over, and spring is almost gone;
Petal by petal the blossoms fly;
Alone I break off a tattered spray
And lean against a railing, silent, communing with myself.
Incense is warm in the jade hall as beaded blinds are raised;
A pair of swallows coming home…
Old promises are hard to keep:
How well I know the bloom of youth lasts but a little while.
（Daniel Bryant 译）
